Fascia strip



C. H. SHARP June 8, 1965 FASCIA STRIP Filed June 13, 1962 INVENTOR.CHARLES H. SHARP United States Patent O @hic Filed .fune 13, 1962, Ser.Ne. 292,267 2 Claims. (Cl. 50-66) This invention pertains to the art ofarchitectural moldings, and moreparticularly to a molding, or fasciastrip, of the type adapted to extend along the upper surface of aVertical wall in a building or other structure.

The invention is particularly applicable to finishing the upper end `ofa masonry building wall, and it will be discussed with particularreference thereto; however, it is to be appreciated that the inventionhas much broader applications and may be used to finish, trim or coverthe upper end or surface of various wall constructions.

In the construction of vertical masonry walls for build- -igs and otherstructures, the upper surface of the walls adjacent the roof line mustbe finished to weatherproof the building and provide a pleasingappearance. In the past it has become common to finish the upper surfaceof these walls by providing a fascia strip constructed from aluminum,galvanized steel sheets or stone slabs which were secured onto the upperend of the vertical walls and, in some cases, extend downwardly a shortdistance along the face of the wall. These fascia strips were quiteexpensive, diliicult to install and often did not provide the desiredappearance.

These and other disadvantages are overcome by the present inventionwhich is directed toward an improved fascia strip having .aninterlocking feature to assist in assembling a number of these strips inoverlapping relationship. Further, the fascia stripl is constructed froma reinforced plastic material such as polyester resins, reinforced fiberglass, therrnosettingV plastic or thermoplastic plastic.

In accordance with the present invention, there is providd a fasciastrip adapted to cover the upper end of fa vertical wall having both atop and an exposed side, the strip comprising a reinforced plastic bodyelongated to extend along the wall, a rst lip integral with the body andextending over the top of the wall and a second lip integral with thebody and extending down the side of the vertical wall.

In accordance with still a further aspect of the present invention, thefirst and second integral lip of the fascia strip are positioned withrespect to each other at a dihedral angle less than 90 so that as thestrip is assembled onto the top of the vertical wall, the lips arebiased against the wall to hold the strip in place.

In accordance with still a further aspect of the present invention, thefascia strip as defined above, is provided with a first end offsetinwardly so that a number of the fascia strips may be laid inend-to-end, overlapping relation ship along the upper end of a verticalwall to provide a substantially flat outer surface. Also, there isprovided adjacent the offset end, a means for interlocking the abuttingends of the fascia strips so that the strips may be assembled along theupper end of the Wall to form a substantially unitary molding.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a fasciastrip adapted to extend along the upper end of a vertical building wall,which strip is inexpensive to construct, easy to assemble onto the wall,forms a continuous appearing molding, and has a substantial resistanceto atmospheric conditions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a fasciastrip adapted to extend along the upper end of a vertical building wall,which strip is comprised of an elongated reinforced plastic body havingtwo integral lips 3,187,464 Fateriteol .lune i8, 1965 ice . adapted toengage the top and sides of the vertical wall respectively.

Still another object of the present invention is Vthe pro-l vision of afascia strip adapted to extend along the upper end ofV a verticalbuilding wall, which strip is inherently biased into engagement with thetop and side of the building wall to form a tight connection between thefascia strip and the wall.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a fasciastrip adapted to extend along the upper end of a vertical building wall,wherein a number of strips can be mounted in overlapping, end-to-endrelationship without interrupting the appearance of continuity from onestrip to the other.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of afascia strip of the type adaptedto extend along the upper end of avertical building wall, wherein a number of the fascia strips may bemounted in both overlapping and interlocking, end-to-end relationshipwithout interrupting the appearance of continuity from one strip to theother. l

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a fasciastrip adapted to extend along a vertical -wall andadjacent the roof of abuilding, which strip is comprised Vof an elongated reinforced plasticbody having two integral lips adapted to engage the top and side of thebuilding wall respectively and an intermediate portion between the lipsand extending in a generally upward direction to form a dam-likestructure for retaining a ,pitch or tar substance applied onto the roof.Y

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description used to illustrate ltion of the preferredembodiment of the invention; and,

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional View taken along line 6 6 of FIGURE 5.

VReferring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for the purposeof illustrating a preferred embodiment-of the invention only, and notfor the purpose of limiting same, FIGURE l shows a plurality of abuttingfascia strips A adapted to extend along the upper endA of a verticalbuilding wall B to exhibit a generally continuons uninterrupted moldingextending inwardly `over a top plate 1) and downwardly along an exposedside 12 of the building wall B. For the purposes of illustration only,the vertical wall B is shown as a brick, or masonry, wall having anexposed side 12 and covered at the upper end by a wooden plank 10. Thepresent invention is directed to an exterior wall molding forweatherproong the wall and providing the wall with a pleasingappearance, and the particular construction of the wall itself does notform part of the invention.

The fascia strips A which are adapted to be positioned end-to-end alongthe upper end of wall B, each comprise an elongated body 20, best shownin FIGURE 2, lhaving a first lip portion 22 adapted to extend over theupper end of wall B, and a second lip portion 24 adapted to Vextenddownwardly over the exposed side 12 of wall B. Adja- Vcent the lower endof the lip portion 24 there is proivded a generally arcuate shapedtongue Z6 adapted to bear against the exposed side 12 of wall B as isbest shown in aravaca FIGURE 4. The tongue 26 causes only line contactbetween the side 12 and the strip A which line contact provides aweather seal between the wall on the strips and also allows a uniformappearance of the strips A even if the side 12 has an uneven or roughsurface. Also, this tonque allows engagement of the strip with the side12 even though a liner C extends from the plate a short distance downthe walls as is shown in FIGURE 4.

To allow overlapping relationship between adjoining fascia strips A,each strip is provided with an inwardly offset portion 2S adjacent oneend thereof as is shown in FIGURES 1-3. Although various amounts ofoffset may be provided, in the preferred embodiment, the offset portion28 is spaced from the outer surface of the fascia strip A a distanceequal to approximately the thickness of the fascia strip so that, as twoadjacent fascia strips are positioned in overlapping relationship toprovide a complete fascia strip molding around a wall, the adjoiningfascia strips exhibit a substantially continuous outer surface, Furtherin accordance with the invention there is provided a means integral withthe fascia strip for allowing interlocking of adjacent strips as theyare assembled onto the wall B. Although various structures are possible,in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,this interlocking means comprises an offset tab 30 which is offsetslightly in an outward direction from tongue 26 to overlap the tongue 26of another fascia strip assembled over the offset portion 2S. To receivethe body 2t? of the adjoining fascia strip, each fascia strip isprovided with a notch 32 intermediate the offset portion 28 and theoffset tab 30.

The fascia strip may be connected onto the upper end of wall B by manymeans; however, in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4, afelt liner C is first placed over the top of the plate 1t). Thereafterthe lip portion 22 is nailed or otherwise fixed onto the plate byappropriate means such as nails 32. A sheet of tar paper or similarmaterial D is then aixed to the upper side of lip portion 22. Inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, aprotruding hump 34 is provided to extend upwardly from lip portion 24 toprovide a smoot-h appearing front exposed side of the fascia strip andalso provide a dam to prevent overflow of tar or other covering Eapplied to a partition, such as a roof, connected onto the wall Badjacent its upper end. To assure that the fascia strip A bears againstthe upper end and exposed side of wall B, the fascia strip is proivdedwith an inherent biasing feature which, in the preferred embodiment, isaccomplished by arranging the lip portions 22 with a dihedral ofapproximately 75. Although the dihedral angle between the lip portionsmay be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, the angle must be less than 90 and 75 has proven verysatisfactory in practice.

A fascia strip constructed in accordance with the present invention ischaracterized by an inherent biasing between the fascia strip and thewall to provide a pleasing continuous appearance from one fascia stripto the other and a means for interlocking the adjoining assembled fasciastrips A. By constructing the strips A with the inherent bias, theoverlapping feature and the interlocking feature, the fascia strips maybe assembled end-to-end to provide a highly efiicient continuousweatherproof molding.

Referring to FIGURES 5 and 6, there is illustrated an inside miteredfascia strip which is adapted to extend around inside corners ofintersectioned walls. The strip comprises a body portion 40, anoutwardly extending lip portion 42 and a downwardly extending lipportion 44. Adjacent the lower end of the second mentioned lip portion,there is provided an arcuately shaped tongue 46 which intersects with aninwardly offset portion 4S adjacent one end of the mitered fascia strip.At this end, the tongue 46 terminates in a slightly outward offset tab5t) separated from the offset portion 48 by a notch 52. Icin- 4' ing thelip portions 42, 44 is an upwardly extending hump S4 similar to the hump34 of the fascia Strip A.

The mitered fascia strip F is adapted to extend around an inside bendbetween intersectioned walls and differs basically from the fascia stripA by omission of the dihedral angle between lip portions 42, 44.Accordingly, the mitered fascia strip does not have the inherent biasingcharacteristics found in the fascia strips A. If the intersecting walldefines an outside bend, a fascia strip similar to fascia strip F may beprovided wherein the strip forms 4a corresponding outside bend. Byproviding such mitered fascia strips, a continuous molding may beprovided around the complete periphery of a building wall with strips Aextending along the straight portions of the walls and mitered stripextending around the various corners.

In FIGURE 2, the second lip portion 2a is shown as a substantially flatmember; however, in practice, it has been found that such a flat lipportion would be forced into a concave shape when the fascia strip ismounted onto the wall. To eliminate this convex shape, the lip 24 may bepreformed with a convex shape that is forced into a fiat surface as thestrip is stressed into position on the Wall.

The present invention has been defined in connection Y with a preferredembodiment; however, it is to be appreciated that the invention is notto be limited by the structural details disclosed therein. To thecontrary, various structural changes may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a wall having an upper end defined by a top andexposed side, and a fascia strip comprising a reinforced plastic bodyelongated to extend along said wall, a first lip integral with said bodyand extending transversely over said top, a second lip integral withsaid body and extending downwardly over said side and an intermediatetar dam portion joining said lips, said tar dam having a generallyarcuate shape extending upwardly from said second lip and above saidfirst lip to allow springing of said lip with respect to each other whensaid strip is assembled onto said wall, said rst and second lip forminga dihedral angle of approximately in the unassembled condition and ofapproximately in the assembled condition on said wall whereby said firstlip is urged against said top and said second lip is urged against saidside of said wall, said second lip having a tongue spaced from saidfirst lip and extending inwardly toward said side of said wall, saidtongue having an inwardmost portion forming a side engaging surfacecoextensive with said strip and said surface abutting said side along aline spaced from said wall top so that said second lip remains spacedfrom said side of said wall.

Z. In combination, a wall having an upper end defined by a top andexposed side, and a fascia strip comprising a reinforced plastic bodyelongated to extend along said wall, a first lip integral with said bodyand extending transversely over said top, a second lip integral withsaid body and extending downwardly over said side and an intermediatetar dam portion joining said lips, said tar dam having a generallyarcuate shape extending upwardly from said second lip and above saidfirst lip to allow springing of said lip with respect to each other whensaid strip is assembled onto said wall, said first and second lipforming a dihedral angle of approximately 75 in the unassembledcondition and of approximately 90 in the assembled condition on saidwall whereby said first lip is urged against said top and said secondlip is urged against said side of said wall, said body having a firstand second end spaced from each other in the direction of elongation ofsaid strip, said first end having a terminal portion offset laterallyfrom the face of the strip adjacent the wall in a direction toward saidwall a distance substantially equal to the thickness of said second end,and said first end having a terminal tab spaced from said offset portionand offset laterally from the face of the strip remote from the wall ina direction away from said wall a distance substantially equal to thethickness of said second end, said olset portion and tab forming anoverlap and interlock arrangement to facilitate assembly of another ofsaid strips in sideby-side abutting relationship.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 278,656 5/83Clark 50-190 932,254 8/09 Dickelman 61--15 1 1,780,553 11/30 Flagge61--15 2,250,951 7/41 Guignon 50-190 X 6 2,596,786 5/52 Norrid 50-662,921,814 1/60 Mede 50-268 X 2,928,274 3/60 Berg sti-69 X 5 OTHERREFERENCES Heating, Air Conditioning, Sheet Metal Contractor; page 60;February 1955.

Civil Engineering; page 46; March 1956. Roofing and Siding Contractor;page 23; July 1958. 0

EARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner.

JACOB I. NACKENOFF, Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, A WALL HAVING AN UPPER END DEFINED BY A TOP ANDEXPOSED SIDE, AND A FASCIA STRIP COMPRISING A REINFORCED PLASTIC BODYELONGATED TO EXTEND ALONG SAID WALL, A FIRST LIP INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODYAND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OVER SAID TOP, A SECOND LIP INTEGRAL WITHSAID BODY AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY OVER SAID SIDE AND AN INTERMEDIATETAR DAM PORTION JOINING SAID LIPS, SAID TAR DAM HAVING A GENERALLYARCUATE SHAPE EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID SECOND LIP AND ABOVE SAIDFIRST LIP TO ALLOW SPRINGING OF SAID LIP WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER WHENSAID STRIP IS ASSEMBLED ONTO SAID WALL, SAID FIRST AND SECOND LIPFORMING A DIHEDRAL ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY 75* IN THE UNASSEMBLED